
6 



M 



TX 56C 

F3 H6 

Copy 1 



t w,KI> >i \ll ■:> DEPARTMENT OF rVGRICl LTURE 

| BULLETIN No. 469 

l unlnbudun from i I ; . n - >< r» i. <■ 

v < ltd f O 





Washington, let. 



I'KuKJ>n|,»n M. 1* v 1*1 K 



IK'it'inlur IB, 1916 



PATS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IN THE 

HOME. 

md ii i . : i ./ Home /.'- 



Introduction 

General nature of tats. . . 

The place of ItH in t >.«■ diet 

Digestibility of Lit* 

Source* and kinds of edible tats. 

Anim-J f.i: -.. .. 

VaivUblafau 

Tb* wlectkm of edible tats. 



CONTENTS 

-nomy ia the iLseof fits 17 

.: nation of waste fats JO 

ridertng and clarify inn .' . >> 

it 

B more sat is- 

■pam lm 

■■* and storajre aj 2a 

aimary 20 



IM ROD1 I 1 [ON. 

Tin- t : 1 1 ~ in the ordinary diet fall naturally into two groups, those 
eaten because they happen t<> be components ol foods, like the fat in 
milk. meat-, or fish, and those Like butter, salad oils, or lard, which 
an- added I tods in cooking <>r serving. The housekeeper 

sted in the I use of fats in the home must take into 

consideration t'at as contributed by both groups. Obviously, the 
kiml and quantity <>f the lirst group <>f fate eaten are determined 
by the foods making up the diet, and this is governed largely 
by individual tastes and local or family food habits. As regards 
thi- group, economy involves chiefly the proper selection and 
combination of foods containing fat in abundance with other foods 
containing little of it. so as to secure a diet supplying the proper pro- 
portions of protein and carbohydrate as well as fat As this matter 

1 Prepared under the direction of C. F. Langworthy, Chief, Office of Home Economics. 

Note. — This bulletin contains information regarding the character, selection, and use of 
edible fats in the home, much of the material being based on investigations made in the 
laboratory of the Office of Home Economics of the States Relations Service. It is of 
interest to teachers and students of domestic science, housekeepers, and others concerned 
with the problems of food selection and preparation, 
61287°— Boll. 469—16 1 

HonograpU 



b ^ 






2 BULLETIN 469, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 7^/^ 

of the nature and use of foods (some rich in fat) has been considered 
in other bulletins of this series, the present publication is concerned 
chiefly with the second group, or the added fats. For convenience 
the added fats may be subdivided into table and culinary fats. Table 
fats are those like butter and table oils, which are most commonly 
used as an accompaniment to food to secure a desired flavor or tex- 
ture, and culinary or cooking fats are those which are incorporated 
with other foods (as shortening) or used as a medium for cooking 
foods, as in frying. Economy in the use of the added fats involves 
the intelligent selection of the different kinds, so as to secure the sort 
best adapted for a particular purpose, and the careful use in the 
home of the fats selected. It is the purpose of this publication to 
consider briefly the nature of fats, their value in the diet, and their 
digestibility: to describe the great variety of table and culinary fats 
on the market ; and finally, to consider the economical selection and 
use of fats in the home. It is believed that such knowledge will prove 
helpful in buying and using fats to the best advantage. 

GENERAL NATURE OF FATS. 

The appearance and physical properties of the common fats and 
oils used for food purposes are too well known to require much de- 
scription here. Chemically considered, fats consist chiefly of glyc- 
erols of fatty acids. The fatty acids whose glycerids are most com- 
mon in edible fats are oleic, linolic. palmitic, and stearic. One fat 
differs from another primarily in the proportions of these esters 
which it contains and in the presence or absence of small quantities 
of other substances, such as free fatty acids and characteristic flavor- 
ing and coloring bodies. 

The melting point or hardness of any fat depends on the relative 
proportions of these acids present, and fats containing large amounts 
of combined oleic and linolic acids are soft or liquid, while those con- 
taining large amounts of palmitic or stearic acid are solid. This 
follows whether the respective acids are combined as triglycerids or 
as mixed glycerids. 

The color of some of the crude fats and oils varies from light yel- 
low to red, or even black, but the refining processes remove a great 
proportion of the color-giving bodies, and the pure fats and oils are 
a pale yellow or colorless when liquid, and white or creamy white 
when solid. .V\ 

The flavors and odorl of fats are probably due to the presence in 
them of small amounts of difficultly removable substances rather 
than to specific properties of the pure fats themselves, in view of 
the fact that flavors and odors become much less noticeable the more 
completely the fats are purified. The characteristic flavor of butter, 
for example, is due to the absorption by the fat of the substances 



D. Of D. 
JAN 2 1917 



FATS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL USE EN THE HOME. 3 

formed in the fermentation of milk and cream by lactic acid and bac- 
teria and to the presence of small particles of the curd. Similarly, 
the by-products, such as butyric acid, which are formed by the action 
of undesirable bacteria, may be absorbed by the fat and give rise 
to the undesirable flavor of butter of poor quality or that which has 
deteriorated. Musty flavors are doubtless due to the presence of 
the products of metabolism of molds which may be present in the 
fats. In the case of some fats, like those of beef and mutton, or 
the fish oils, it has apparently been impossible to remove entirely the 
flavor-giving substances by the ordinary methods of refining. 

The exact nature of the compounds causing the rancid taste and 
odor of fats is not known. It is believed by some investigators that 
free and unsaturated fatty acids are first formed by the hydrolysis 
of the fats and that in the presence of light and air these fatty acids 
are oxidized to odoriferous compounds (aldehydes, ketones, etc.). 
the presence of which is thought to be identical with rancidity. 

Very little is known of the nature of the combinations formed when 
culinary fats and other food materials are mingled in doughs, batters, 
etc. It is not definitely known to what extent these are mechanical 
mixtures and to what extent the ingredients have undergone chemical 
and physical changes. It is probable that the texture, and conse- 
quently the thoroughness of digestion of the finished bread or cake, 
depend in some degree upon such factors, and more information on 
this subject is desirable in order that the culinary processes may be 
more completely understood and controlled. 

THE PLACE OF FATS IN THE DIET. 

The chief value of fats in nutrition is that they furnish energy 
which the body requires to perform its work. The ideal diet should 
contain sufficient quantities of fat and carbohydrates to insure it the 
required amount of energy, as well as a sufficient quantity of protein 
to supply the necessary nitrogen for growth and repair of the body, 
also mineral matter for growth and other body needs, and vitamins 
or similar bodies required to render the diet adequate for maintenance. 
Since fats furnish 2J times as much energy, pound for pound, as do 
proteins and carbohydrates (1 pound of fat furnishing about 4,000 
calories, and 1 pound of protein or carbohydrate only about 1.800 
calories) , and since they are both wholesome and palatable, they are 
very commonly used to increase the energy value of the diet. Fur- 
thermore, they are especially useful as a source of energy where an 
excess of carbohydrates in the diet is to be avoided, as in cases of 
diabetes or certain forms of indigestion. 

The consumption of some fat is apparently universal, although the 
amoimt eaten varies within rather wide limits. The diet in the 
polar regions represents one extreme, fat being used in quantity with 



4 BULLETIN 469, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

meat, which is the chief article of diet. Though it seems to be less 
well known, it is nevertheless true, that fats are also eaten in consid- 
erable quantity in tropical countries, as is evident when one recalls 
the coconut oil of the South Sea Islands and the olive oil and other 
fats so much used in cookery in other regions characterized by a very 
warm climate. As everyone knows, dwellers in temperate regions use 
fat in the diet in many ways, which are determined largely by the pre- 
vailing food habits and the kinds of fat procurable, and in quantities 
which bear a more or less direct relation to the amount of physical work 
performed. Men engaged in severe work out-of-doors often eat large 
quantities of fatty foods. Workmen in lumber camps, for instance, 
relish a diet of pork and beans and other fat foods which would be 
too hearty for the office worker or clerk. It is difficult to obtain any 
definite figures for the quantity of fat eaten by the average person, 
but in 1,300 dietary studies of families, carried out among different 
races and in different countries, it was found that the average quan- 
tity of fat eaten was about 4£ ounces per person per day, the varia- 
nt m recorded being from 1|- to 13 ounces per person per day. 

AYhile fats and carbohydrates may replace each other to a consid- 
erable extent, recent investigations indicate that some carbohydrate 
supplied by the food or formed in the body from protein is essential 
for the combustion of fats in the body. Experts in nutrition and 
dietetics, therefore, believe that neither one should be used to the 
exclusion of the other. 

DIGESTIBILITY OF FATS. 

While all fats yield approximately equal amounts of energy when 
burned outside of the body, the energy which the body actually de- 
rives from each is dependent upon its digestibility; that is, the pro- 
portion which the body retains. The digestibility of a number 
of the individual fats 1 has been determined, and the information 
at present available indicates that fats in general are very thoroughly 
digested; more so, indeed, than the animal or vegetable proteins 
and the starch occurring in the ordinary mixed diet. Such 
slight differences as have been observed in the digestibility of in- 
dividual fats evidently correspond to differences in their melting 
points. Available evidence indicates that fats such as mutton fat, 
having a melting point higher than the body temperature, are less 
completely assimilated than those melting at a lower temperature, 
such as lard, butter, olive oil, and cottonseed oil. Also, it has been 
shown by feeding experiments with laboratory animals that animal 
and vegetable stearins (melting above body temperature) are only 

1 U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 310 (1915). 



FATS AXD THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IN THE HOME. 5 

very slightly assimilated by the body when eaten alone, whereas, 
if mixed with palmitin and olein digestibility is increased because, no 
doubt, the mixture has a lower melting point than the stearin by 
itself. 

The digestive disturbances often attributed to eating fat are prob- 
ably due not so much to the inability of the body to digest the fat 
itself as to other factors, chief among which are bad cooking, 
overeating of foods containing fats, and rancidity. Laboratory ex- 
periments have shown that under some conditions, when fats are 
overheated, a chemical compound called acrolein is formed. This 
substance is especially irritating to the mucous membranes of the 
eyes. nose, and throat, and it is well known to housekeepers that when 
fats are scorched vapors are given off which cause the eyes to water. 
If any of these vapors were occluded in the food during frying it 
seems probable that similar irritation would be produced on the deli- 
cate mucous membrane of the digestive tract. Obviously, such di- 
gestive disturbances can not be cited as proofs of an incomplete 
digestion of fats. 

Disagreeable sensations are experienced by some people after 
eating large quantities of foods such as meats containing much fat 
interspersed with the muscular tissue, and overrich puddings or 
salads. This may be explained by the fact that the digestive juices 
of the stomach have little solvent action on such nonemulsified fats 
and are thus hindered from digesting the protein which is covered 
by or very intimately mixed with the fat. The passing of the food 
through the pylorus into the small intestine is thus delayed until 
the fat has become separated from the lean portions by the enzymic 
and mechanical action of the stomach. For this reason very fat 
meats, for instance, remain a longer time in the stomach than lean 
meats, although in the end they are as thoroughly digested. Similar 
digestive disturbances are sometimes experienced after eating fried 
foods (cooked without scorching) or foods in which fat is incorpo- 
rated in such a manner that it prevents the digestive juices from act- 
ing upon the protein and carbohydrates. This delayed digestion is 
often mistaken for diminished or incomplete digestion. Fats which 
have become rancid, even though the rancidity is not sufficiently 
marked to influence the flavor very much, may cause digestive dis- 
turbances in some people. That this is not always the case is evi- 
denced by the fact that there are some oriental people who eat rancid 
butter or oils apparently by preference. 

It must be remembered that there are some persons whose systems 
can tolerate little if any food rich in fats. This, like the inability of 
some to eat strawberries, onions, or other foods, without digestive 
disturbances, is a matter of individual peculiarity. 



6 BULLETIN 409, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 

SOURCES AND KINDS OF EDIBLE FATS. 

The fats eaten in the ordinary mixed diet are furnished chiefly 
by such foods as fat meats, butter, milk, and cream, but are also 
present in smaller amounts in pastry, breads, eggs, cheese, cereals, 
etc. Fat meats like pork (including lard) and beef furnish about 
59 per cent of the total fat in the average American diet, ac- 



/^WZvfV/ 



p/?or&/v /% 











wokf/a/ 




&S7COAS 




JLS7/P0 




s?s//f% 



MT6ET/I3LE O/LJ 



Fig. 1. — Composition of some common fatty foods. 

cording to the results of about 400 studies as reported in an 
earlier publication of this office. 1 The same investigations showed 
that dairy products, including butter, milk, cream, and cheese, 
furnish about 26 per cent of the total fat ; cereal products, including 



1 U. S. Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. arc. 110 (1911). 



FATS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IX THE HOME. 7 

cuke;; and breads, about 9 per cent: eggs about 3 per cent: and fish 
about 1 per cent. Some kinds of fish contain considerable fat 
and offer a means of adding it to the diet. One-tenth of the 
edible portion of such fish as the catfish, salmon, butterfish. trout, 
shad, and a smaller proportion of other common fish consists of fat. 
The composition of some of the foods which are important sources of 
fat in the diet is shown in figure 1. The amount of energy supplied 
by these foods depends on the quantity of fat which they contain, the 
pure fats like lard or vegetable fats furnishing 4.080 calories per 

37&/V£>^/?0 /**?/? COA7P/?/?/SOA/ 




/OOO G410/P//5S 





30>7T£/?,3&&0 d 



MC/rBUTTF/P, 2J&Q C. 



3ACO//, JP&33 C. 



HAM, /,8&S O. 





l/9/?D^ t OeO C. 



B33rS(S3r, 3&JS5 C. 



t/£-&£r/?3LFf?4rSrfOeO C. V£&£7&3LFO/£3 t <%080C. 

Fig. 2. — Energy furnished by one pound of common fatty foods. 

pound, and those containing other ingredients like water or protein 
naturally having a lower energy value. For comparison the energy 
furnished by 1 pound of some of the common fatty foods is shown 
graphically in figure 2. 

Xot many years ago the fats used in this country were obtained 
almost entirely from the two groups of farm animals, cattle and 
hogs. Butter and cream were the ordinary table fats, and it 
was the general custom for each family to obtain its own supply 
of lard, which was the chief cooking fat, from the pigs slaughtered 



8 BULLETIN 469, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

on the farm. Beef and mutton fats, or tallows, as they were gen- 
erally known, were used in cooking to some extent in the form 
of "dripping" obtained from cooking meats, but found a much 
wider use for candle and soap making. Chicken fat was also used 
in a limited way. As the population began to concentrate in cities 
and towns, the introduction of central slaughterhouses and rendering 
plants made it possible to obtain both meat and fat separately in such 
ways as met individual requirements, and home rendering of fats 
quite generally disappeared except in rural regions. The increasing 
population created a demand which soon exceeded the available sup- 
ply obtained from slaughtered animals, and this made it necessary 
to seek additional sources of edible fats. Naturally, olive oil, used 
for food purposes in some parts of Europe and the Orient and less 
generally in the United States, suggested the possibility of the utili- 
zation of other vegetable fats, and as the methods of refining were 
improved cottonseed oil came to be very commonly used, and, to a 
less extent, coconut, peanut, and corn oils. At the present time there 
are also a number of vegetable fats on the market, some of which 
are simply refined and used alone or in admixture, while others have 
been treated by special processes designed to render them harder or 
otherwise changed in character. In the following pages general 
information is given regarding the nature, source, and use of some of 
the more important edible fats. 

ANIMAL FATS. 



Butter is the most popular and widely used of all fats in the 
United States, it being estimated that from 17 to 18 pounds per 
capita are consumed yearly, most of it for table purposes. Its food 
value is due largely to the energy it furnishes, which is about 3,500 
calories per pound. It consists of the fat of milk, some water, and 
a little curd and added salt. Butter is of two kinds, salted 
and unsalted. Commercial butter contains" approximately 82.5 per 
cent of fat, which consists chiefly of palmitin and olein with small 
amounts of myristin, butyrin," and other glycerids of the fatty acids. 
The color varies considerably with the nature of the food materials 
eaten by the cow ; the yellow is deeper in summer when green food 
is eaten. It is a common practice to add vegetable coloring matter, 
especially during the winter months, to intensify the natural color. 
Since butter tends to deteriorate easily, care in its manufacture is 
necessary to secure a wholesome product with good keeping qualities. 
The milk from which the cream is separated should be free from 
disease-causing bacteria as well as from microorganisms which would 
produce undesirable flavors or odors in the butter. For this reason 



FATS AXD THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IX THE HOME. 9 

in many creameries the milk or cream is pasteurized to kill undesir- 
able organisms, and the ripening of the cream is started and con- 
trolled by the addition of a pure culture of bacteria which produce 
the desired flavors. Care must also be taken in the handling and 
storage of butter to prevent it from becoming contaminated with 
disease-causing bacteria or from absorbing undesirable odors or 
flavors. Such precautions, necessary to secure a wholesome product, 
naturally add to the cost of butter, but obviously from the standpoint 
of health are well worth the higher price. Butter of inferior quality is 
frequently treated by a commercial process which removes the objec- 
tionable odor and taste and then marketed as renovated or " process " 
butter. As many housekeepers know, strong butter can be made more 
palatable by washing it repeatedly in clean, cold water and then 
resalting: if the final washing is done in milk a better flavor is 
obtained. The commercial process of renovating butter is somewhat 
similar to this domestic process. The butter is melted, and air is 
blown through it until the undesirable flavor due to volatile sub- 
stances is carried away. The product is then emulsified with soured 
milk and worked like ordinary butter. Eenovated butter sells for a 
lower price than fresh butter, and for this reason it is used quite 
extensively in cookery, and to some extent for table purposes. If the 
process is carefully carried out it is of good flavor. Naturally, the 
sale of renovated butter as fresh butter is prohibited by the Federal 
and State pure-food laws. 

Eendered butter, called " ghee " in India, is preferred by some 
people to ordinary butter. It is easily prepared by melting the butter 
with or without adding water and allowing the mixture to become 
cold, when the layer of butter fat is removed ; if desired, salt is added 
to replace that removed in rendering. 



Cream, which contains from 18 to 40 per cent of fat. should be 
regarded as one of the available fats. It is generally used as a table 
fat, being served with cereals and fruits, as a constituent of ice 
cream, and plain or whipped with jellies or puddings. In rural 
regions, where the supply is large, both sweet and sour cream are 
commonly used for shortening, but to a less extent in cities and 
towns, where cream is more expensive. Cream is very palatable to 
most persons, and for this reason it is often prescribed by physicians 
for people who require a diet rich in fats. A form of cream more 
common in England than here, and known as " Devonshire Clotted 
Cream," is prepared by heating to about 180° F. whole milk on 
which the cream has been allowed to rise, cooling the mass, and 
skimming off the cream. It has a light-yellow color and a character- 
6T287 — Bull. 469—16 2 



10 BULLETIN 469, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

istic nutty flavor, is much thicker than ordinary cream, and contains 
about 60 per cent of fat. 



Pork fat is one of the more widely used of the animal fats, being 
eaten in a variety of forms, such as bacon, ham, fresh and cured 
pork, and lard, which is used principally for culinary purposes. The 
best grade of lard, commonly known as leaf lard, is rendered from 
the fat which surrounds the kidneys of the animal,- but commer- 
cial lard is often rendered from any or all of the fatty portions of 
the animal and could be more exactly termed pork fat. Since lard 
contains a relatively small amount of the harder constituents of fats, 
it has a moderately low melting point and so is easily handled in the 
preparation of doughs. This is a reason why some housekeepers 
prefer it to harder fats for shortening purposes, especially in cold 
weather. For some special shortening purposes lard may be too soft 
and require hardening by chilling before use. Pure lard should be 
white in color and practically free from taste or smell. Home- 
rendered lard may contain varying amounts of water, according to 
the mode of rendering, but that containing the smallest quantity has 
the best keeping qualities; the commercial product contains prac- 
tically no water. Formerly lard was sometimes adulterated by the 
addition of different substances, but with more stringent regulations 
this has practically ceased, and the commercial product is generally 
wholesome and prepared under sanitary conditions from animals 
which have been inspected before slaughter. 



Beef fat contains a large amount of stearin and is therefore harder 
than either butter or lard. The hardness and other characteristics 
of beef fat, as well as other animal fats, vary somewhat according to 
the part of the body from which they are obtained; for example, 
brisket fat, from the breast of the animal, is softer than rendered 
suet, the fat surrounding the kidney. The hardness of beef fat, and 
its rather pronounced flavor, which is unpleasant to some people, have 
doubtless prevented its more extensive use for culinary purposes. 
Many attempts have been made to remove the flavor, but apparently 
no method has been discovered which gives results satisfactory enough 
to warrant its use on a commercial scale. Finely chopped unrendered 
suet is quite often used for shortening in such dishes as suet pud- 
dings. Rendered beef fat, or tallow, as it is sometimes called, is used 
by many people for shortening purposes, being mixed with butter or 
some other fat to soften it. It is sometimes sold in the market for 
this purpose, and in many homes beef suet or small scraps of fat 
trimmed from roasts, etc., are rendered for use in shortening and 



FATS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IN THE HOME. 11 

frying. Rendered beef suet has no general use in this country as a 
table fat. but in Europe people with small incomes often eat so-called 
drippings on their bread in place of butter. These drippings are 
sometimes obtained from roasting or broiling beef, but in many cases 
are simply rendered suet. 

MUTTON" FAT. 

Mutton fat. called also mutton tallow or suet, contains a relatively 
large amount of stearin and is. therefore, classed commercially as a 
hard fat. It is used in the manufacture of stearin for soap making. 
and small quantities of the more highly refined grades are used in the 
manufacture of toilet creams and other cosmetics. Edible mutton fat 
is now prepared in considerable quantities, the mutton tallow and 
mutton stearin being used as ingredients of lard substitutes and the 
mutton oil as an ingredient of the lower grades of oleomargarine. 
Mutton fat is eaten to some extent in most homes as a constituent of 
fat mutton or lamb and in gravies served with such meats. Mixed 
with softer fats it is occasionally used in the home for shortening and 
frying, but much less so than pork and beef fats. This, no doubt. 
has been due to the characteristic mutton flavor, which is unpleasant 
to many people, to the hardness of the fat. and in some degree to the 
smaller available supply. 

POULTRY FATS. 

Poultry fats resemble butter and lard in consistency, and recent in- 
vestigations show them to be as thoroughlv digested as other fats of 
the same degree of hardness. That they are wholesome and pala- 
table is indicated by the fact that they are very frequently eaten as 
a constituent of gravies, broths, and soups. Many housekeepers con- 
sider poultry fat very useful and desirable in cookery, but the total 
quantity of poultry fats used in this manner is relatively small, owing 
to the limited supply. In the household small quantities are obtained 
in dressing and cooking fat poultry, but the only available commer- 
cial supply is that obtained from very fat birds drawn at the market 
for those who do not desire the excess fat. Chicken fat is the poultry 
fat most used for cooking purposes in the United States, as is 
natural, since chickens are the commonest table poultry. Goose fat, 
so well known in Europe, is used in this country chiefly by families 
of foreign birth or descent who keep to old food customs. 

OLEOMARGARINE. 

A discussion of animal fats would not be complete without some 
mention of oleomargarine, called " margarin " in Europe. The term 
margarin was at first used to designate a mixture of fats, composed 
of such proportions of palmitin and stearin that it closely resembled 



12 BULLETIN 40!', U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGBICULTUBE. 

margaric acid, for which it was often mistaken, and so it was given 
the name " margarin." Later, when soft beef fat, or oleo oil, became 
an important component of this mixture, it was called oleomargarine 
or oleo. The name does not at present, however, indicate the compo- 
sition of the oleomargarine. The principal fats used in its manufac- 
ture in the United States are oleo oil, neutral lard (that is. a spe- 
cially rendered lard), and cottonseed and other oils. All these ingre- 
dients must be pure and prepared with care in order that none of 
them shall have any marked taste or odor. These are mixed in such 
proportions as will give the final product a melting point very near 
that of butter. After being thoroughly mixed the fats are churned 
with a small quantity of milk and sometimes cream, the proportions 
of these used depending upon the quality of the product desired. In 
the preparation of high-grade oleomargarine varying quantities of 
butter are also added. The resulting product is then washed, salted, 
and worked as in ordinary butter-making processes. Owing to the 
ease with which a highly colored oleomargarine might be sold as 
butter, it is illegal to sell oleomargarine unless it is plainly labeled 
as such, and the practice of coloring it to imitate butter is discour- 
aged by a heavy tax. Oleomargarine is not used as extensively in 
this country as in Europe, where it serves both for table and culinary 
purposes. If prepared from pure materials and under sanitary con- 
ditions, it is a wholesome fat, which, according to European investi- 
gators, is well assimilated. It has an energy value of about 3,500 
calories per pound. 

VEGETABLE FATS. 

Vegetable fats are prepared on a commercial scale from oil-bearing 
seeds and fruits and must ordinarily be freed from disagreeable 
flavors and odors as well as from dirt, by-products, and harmful con- 
stituents. In general, the process involves cleaning the seeds or 
fruits and subjecting them to hydraulic pressure. Cold-pressed oils 
usually receive no further treatment. When the seeds or oily pulp 
are hot pressed, however, the raw oil is likely to contain free fatty 
acids and other organic compounds of a disagreeable nature which 
make refining necessary. The refining process is adapted to the 
properties of the oil in question. 

OLIVE OIL. 

Olive oil is obtained by subjecting the ripe olives to pressure. 
The best grade, known as virgin oil. is obtained from perfect olives 
of the proper degree of ripeness. Lower grades may be obtained 
either by crushing and pressing an inferior quality of olives or by 
a second pressing of the residue from the first pressing of the better 
grades of fruit. The only refining or purification of the better 



FATS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IX THE HOME. 13 

grades of oil necessary is filtration to remove foreign matter. In the 
United States olive oil is used almost exclusively for table purposes, 
being a very common salad oil. In localities where it is produced, 
especially in southern Europe, it is used for cooking as well as for 
table purposes, owing to the larger and more readily available sup- 
ply (especially of the cheaper grades) and to the relatively limited 
supply of animal fat in such regions. 

COTTONSEED OIL. 

Cottonseed oil in its crude form is obtained as a ruby or dark-red 
oil by subjecting the seeds of the cotton plant to great pressure. 
This crude oil was at first used for soap making and other indus- 
trial purposes, but with the increased demand for culinary fats im- 
proved methods of refining the crude oil. such as treating it with 
caustic alkali, fuller's earth, distillation with steam, etc., were de- 
veloped. These serve to modify greatly the color, odor, and taste, 
and the best grade of table oil has a light-yellow color and a bland 
flavor. The refined oil was first utilized in the preparation of 
various lard substitutes by mixing with it hard animal fats to pro- 
duce a substance having a consistency similar to lard. Other meth- 
ods have been developed, and a wide variety of cooking fats pre- 
pared from cottonseed oil are now on the market. More recently 
salad oils have been prepared which are wholesome and palatable 
and are being used in increasing quantities for table purposes. 

PEANUT OIL. 

Peanut oil is not used to any extent for culinary purposes in this 
country, but some is imported for use as a salad oil. In Europe, 
where it is obtainable in relatively large quantities, it is used quite 
extensively both as a table oil and for cooking. When prepared by 
the cold-press method the characteristic peanut flavor is not notice- 
able and the product is bland and palatable. In the past the peanut 
oil produced in this country has been used in the crude state for 
industrial purposes, but an attempt is being made to develop the 
peanut -oil industry in this country and to encourage the more ex- 
tensive use of the refined oil. which is now more expensive than 
cottonseed oil. but less expensive than olive oil of similar grade. 

COCONUT OIL. 

Coconut oil is prepared by pressing the dried meat of the coconut, 
which is known in the trade as copra. The crude oil is used for cook- 
ing purposes in tropical countries where the oil is prepared. In 
this condition the fat melts at about TO F. and is a liquid in summer 
or in warm rooms during the winter. Refined coconut fat has little 
marked taste or odor if fresh and carefully prepared, and when solid 



14 BULLETIN 409, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ACxRICULTURE. 

is white in color. It has only recently come into use for culinary 
purposes but bids fair to become an important cooking fat. There 
are a number of coconut-oil products on the market, but these are 
not much used for home cooking. They are extensively used in 
bakeries and similar establishments, one reason being that they can 
be obtained with a considerable range of hardness, so that they are 
useful for many special purposes. For instance, one of the coconut 
fats is combined with sugar for use as a filling for some sweet 
crackers. 



Corn oil is prepared from the germ of the corn which is obtained 
as a by-product in the manufacture of cornstarch and glucose. The 
germs are ground and subjected to pressure which removes the oil. 
Some studies have been made of the use of corn oil for shortening 
purposes. Pastry made with mixtures of lard and corn oil in amounts 
not exceeding 10 per cent of the latter gave results identical with 
those in which lard alone was used. 1 When properly refined, corn oil 
is a wholesome product and is marketed to some extent as a table 
oil. Large quantities of the crude oil are used for industrial pur- 
poses. 

MISCELLANEOUS OILS. 

In addition to the above-mentioned vegetable oils there are a num- 
ber of others, such as soy bean, sunflower, sesame, and colza or rape- 
seed oils, which may be mentioned here. When carefully prepared 
these oils are of a yellow color and bland flavor and are used for 
food purposes in those countries where the particular seeds are ob- 
tainable in large quantities and the supply of other edible oils is 
limited. Walnut and similar nut oils, produced in some countries 
where the nut crops are large, are of good flavor and find a use for 
snlad purposes. 

There is some attempt being made to promote the utilization for 
table purposes of oils expressed from the kernels of the stones of 
such fruits as the apricot, peach, and cherry. Inasmuch as these 
stones are available in quantity as a waste product of the drying 
;iiid canning of fruits, and the expression and refining of the oil 
may be done at small cost, thev offer an additional source of edible 
oil. 

HARDENED VEGETABLE FATS. 

Hardened vegetable oils, technically known as hydrogenated oils, 
which have much the same consistency as lard or butter, have been 
put on the market within recent years. They are commercial pos- 

!Ann. Rpt. Ohio Dairy and Food Comr., 21 (1906), pp. 18-23. 



FATS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IX THE HOME. 15 

>ibilitier- owing to the fact that as a result of a long series of labora- 
tory experiments processes have been discovered by which oils may 
be transformed into a product of any desired hardness by chemically 
adding hydrogen to them. This reaction takes place, for instance. 
when finely divided nickel, hydrogen, and the oil to be hardened 
are intimately mixed- under proper conditions. The nickel does not 
enter into the composition of the hardened fat. but is removed and 
used repeatedly in the preparation of other batches. The hard- 
ened oils are generally white in color, have no appreciable odor or 
taste, and are less likely to become rancid than the original oil. 
A number of these fats, marketed under a variety of trade names. 
have proved popular and appear to be of quite wide application. 
This hardening process may also be of special value in the future 
utilization of some oils like the fish oils, which, because of objection- 
able flavors and odors, are not entirely suited for edible purposes in 
their natural state. 

NUT BUTTERS. 

Closely related to the nut oils mentioned above (see p. 13) are 
the nut butters prepared by grinding finely the meats of peanuts, 
almonds, or other nuts rich in fat. so as to produce an oily muss 
much like butter in consistency. Peanut butter is by far the most 
common of the nut butters. It is used chiefly as a filling for sand- 
wiches, crackers, etc.. though it finds some use in cooking. The nut 
butters can be made at home by grinding the whole nuts: a special 
nut-butter knife being furnished with some of the meat or food 
choppers. In addition to containing a large amount of fat. nut 
butters also contain considerable protein. 



Although its oil is not extracted for food purposes, the avocado, 
commonly called the alligator pear, a tropical fruit which is becom- 
ing better known in some of our markets, contains as high as 20 per 
cent of fat in the edible portion. TVhen used in the diet this must be 
taken into consideration as a source of fat. 

THE SELECTION OF EDIBLE FATS. 

In the selection of edible fats the principal considerations should 
be the purpose for which the fat is to be used, quality, price, and 
individual preference, since the energy which the body derives from 
different fats is about the same, and all are regarded as wholesome 
when of good quality. Custom, which influences to a considerable 
extent the choice of all foods, can. therefore, be subordinated to the 
more essential consideration of economv. 



16 BULLETIN 469, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGBICULTUBK. 

When purchasing fats for table use it should be remembered that 
they influence the wholesomeness of the foods with which they are 
served as well as the energy value and cost. The price of table fats 
depends largely upon their flavor and to a less extent on color, and 
in selecting them each housekeeper must decide how much she can 
afford to pay for these properties, since all the edible fats have prac- 
tically the same energy value. In general it pays always to buy fats 
of such good quality that none will have to be thrown away through 
spoilage. In some instances a higher-priced article may be more 
economical in the end as, for example, clean, sanitary butter, as 
compared to a cheaper but less sanitary product. In some instances, 
where taste or flavor only is involved, a less expensive table fat may 
answer quite satisfactorily the purpose of a more expensive one. 
For example, the chief use of table oils is as an ingredient of salad 
dressings, and when a characteristic flavor is not especially desired, 
good grades of cottonseed and peanut oils, having a bland flavor, 
may be used, when these are less expensive than the corresponding 
grades of olive oil. 

Fats used for shortening influence the appearance, flavor, texture, 
composition, keeping quality, and cost of the foods in which they are 
incorporated. In selecting shortening fats flavor and odor are to be 
considered, but attractive appearance and color are of less impor- 
tance, since in cooking these are usually masked. Other qualities 
being equal, those culinary fats are more economical and desirable 
which possess the best keeping quality ; that is, the least tendency to 
become rancid. Also, for general use shortening fats give the best 
results if they are neither too hard nor too soft to be easily mixed 
with the other ingredients of the dough at ordinary temperatures. 

Fats used as a medium for cooking should be carefully selected, 
since they influence the flavor, appearance, and texture of the foods 
cooked in them, as is evident when one recalls the bad flavor im- 
parted to fried foods by burned or rancid fat. Preference should be 
given to a fat which does not scorch too readily at the temperature 
most commonly used for frying. Experiments in the laboratory of 
the Office of Home Economics indicate that butter and lard scorch 
at a lower temperature than beef or mutton fats and cottonseed, pea- 
nut, or coconut oils. For this reason, therefore, the latter fats are 
preferable for deep frying, which requires high temperature. 

Prejudice often exerts an influence on the selection of fats as well 
as other food materials, and these prejudices are often curious. For 
example, some persons who think that lard is not only indigestible, 
but also unwholesome, nevertheless enjoy bacon, which, of course, 
supplies pork fat in a different form. Such prejudices have little 



FATS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IN THE HOME. 17 

or no basis of fact and should not exert too much influence on the 
selection of any food material. 

ECONOMY IN THE USE OF FATS. 

In minor details the practice of economy in the use of fats must 
vary according to conditions in different homes, and each house- 
keeper must determine for herself the manner in which economy may 
be secured in her own household. There are some general sugges- 
tions, however, which are worth consideration. 

Economy in the use of table fats probably may best be secured 
by avoiding careless or needless uses. The quantities of butter, salad 
dressing, or table oils generally eaten by the different members of 
the family should be observed, and the size of the portions served 
governed accordingly, so that the left-overs will be small. One 
should serve all of these that a person will use, but no more. In 
some homes this possible economy is not considered sufficiently im- 
portant to warrant the effort. In hotels and restaurants, however, 
where profit is increased by the prevention of unnecessary waste, 
this matter is given considerable attention, and careful observations 
have been made to determine the average quantity of butter eaten 
per person. It has been found that if too small a portion is served 
more second orders are called for,, and much butter is thus wasted, 
because the total will so often exceed the person's desire for it. On 
the other hand, if the portions served are too large, a considerable 
quantity will be unused. As a result of such observations many 
hotels and restaurants have regulated the size of portions so as to 
give satisfaction and yet insure the smallest amount of waste. A 
common size is a block 1^ inches by 1J inches by | inch (weighing 
about one-half ounce), which is readily obtained by cutting a pound 
print of butter into 32 pieces with a- cutter designed for the purpose, 
or with a sharp knife slightly warmed. Many housekeepers prefer 
to make the butter into " butterballs," using for the purpose the 
wooden paddles which may be bought from house-furnishing stores. 
The size of the balls can be regulated according to the needs of the 
individual. 

Where table fats (chiefly butter and cream) are used in cookery 
to give flavor, economy demands that they be so used as to secure 
the maximum of quality in texture or flavor from a minimum 
quantity of fat. It is a waste to use more than a good recipe calls 
for. It is well known that too much butter makes a cake soggy, 
while a salad dressing with too much oil tastes " fat." It is 
more economical to stir butter into cooked vegetables just before 
they are served rather than while cooking, and the flavor thus im- 
parted is more pronounced. Furthermore, if added before cooking 



18 BULLETIN 469, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 

much of the butter is lost unless the water in which the vegetables 
are boiled is served with them. Instead of adding butter to vegeta- 
bles many people cook fat ham, bacon, or salt pork with them and 
relish the characteristic flavor thus imparted. As another example 
of the economical use of butter in cookery may be cited the frying 
(sauteing) of eggs, rice cakes, etc., in a mixture of butter, to con- 
tribute flavor, and some such fat as lard or drippings to give a suffi- 
cient quantity of fat for the cooking process. Also, part butter (or 
cream) and part lard is frequently used in shortening pie crust, 
biscuits, etc. A mixture of equal parts of carefully rendered beef 
suet, bird, and butter, known as " butterschmaltz," is used in some 
regions of the country for shortening purposes in place of table 
butter. 

Since shortening fats are used to secure texture more often than 
for their distinctive flavor, it is possible to utilize a greater variety of 
fats for this purpose than for table use. Oftentimes a home-rendered 
fat may be economically substituted for butter, lard, or vegetable fats 
for shortening purposes. For instance, beef -brisket fat is softer than 
suet and. if well rendered, can be used to make gingerbread, spice 
cake, and similar dishes in which the spice or molasses used masks 
tin' flavor of the fat. A possible economy, more common some years 
ago than now, is the use of chopped, unrendered suet for shortening 
in such foods as suet puddings, or the use of finely chopped salt pork 
for a similar purpose in some spice cakes. Occasionally cheese can 
be used both as a shortening and to give flavor, as in making Brown 
Betty, cheese biscuits, etc., as is mentioned in another bulletin of the 
Department. 1 

The use of too much fat for shortening is not only extravagant 
but may be unhealthy, because the frequent ingestion of large quan- 
tities of very fat foods often produces digestive disturbances. All 
that a dish requires to be of standard quality should be used, but no 
more. It is just as possible for food to be overfat or overshort as 
it is to be oversweet, and in the preparation of cakes, batters, etc., 
recipes which call for an unusually large quantity of fat should be 
avoided for the sake of health as well as economy. Another possible 
economy is the selection of a food which requires little or no fat in 
its preparation in place of a similar kind of food rich in it, when 
some other ingredient of the meal supplies a generous amount of fat. 
For instance, sponge cake instead of pound cake, or beaten biscuit 
instead of butter cakes, might well be selected when very fat meats 
or other fat dishes form a part of the meal. 

In frying, fat serves principally as a medium for transmitting the 
heat needed for cooking. The flavor is modified also, as is evident 

1 U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 487. 



FATS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IN THE HOME. 19 

from the fact that foods like croquettes when fried in fat have a 
different taste from those baked in the oven. Since all foods in 
frying absorb some fat, their nutritive (energy) value is increased. 
Up to a certain point this may be an advantage, but it is desirable 
to regulate the amount absorbed in order that the foods may be of 
good flavor and texture and not overfat. An excess of fat soaked 
up by the food is not only waste, but lowers the quality and may give 
rise to digestive disturbances in the case of some persons. 

The temperature of the fat during deep frying has considerable 
influence upon the quantity of fat which the food absorbs, and some 
preliminary studies have been made in the laboratory of the Office 
of Home Economics to determine satisfactory temperatures. A 
doughnut batter was prepared from flour, egg, milk, sugar, and 
baking powder, and portions of uniform size and shape were fried 
for definite periods of time in beef fat, lard, cottonseed oil, coconut 
fat. and peanut oil at a number of different temperatures. It was 
found that there was a definite temperature for each fat at which 
the batter soaked the smallest quantity of fat and was most satisfac- 
torily cooked as regards texture. This temperature was about 
360°* F. for beef fat, 350° F. for lard, and 390° F. for cottonseed, 
coconut, and peanut oils. Subsequent chemical analyses of the 
doughnuts showed that if this temperature were lowered 20° F. for 
the animal fats and 40° F. for the vegetable fats the quantity of fat 
absorbed by the doughnuts was increased approximately 25 per cent. 
Although these temperatures may vary somewhat with different 
lots of fat, owing to slight variations in composition, it may be stated 
in the light of these experiments that for successful deep frying 
vegetable fats should be heated from 30° to 40° F. higher than animal 
fats. Mixtures of beef or mutton fats with some of the oils and 
softer fats were also tested. \Yith mixtures of equal amounts of hard 
and soft fats the optimum temperature was midway between that 
of the two separate fats. There is less danger of a fat being too 
hot than being too cold for frying foods, since a tendency for the food 
to burn is more easily noted by the cook than a tendency for it to soak 
fat. Also, if the fat is too cool more of it is absorbed by the foods. 
However, fats used for deep frying should never be heated high 
enough to scorch, as the burned flavor and odor are very hard to re- 
move, and foods fried in scorched fats are of poor quality. A ther- 
mometer which will register as high as 420° F. is very useful for 
measuring temperatures in deep frying, but it is rather expensive, and 
a fairly close idea of the temperature may be obtained by noting the 
time taken to brown a 1-inch cube of bread completely immersed in 
the hot fat. Experiments in the laboratory of the Office of Home 
Economics indicate that vegetable fats are at the most satisfactory 



20 BULLETIN 469, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 

temperature for deep frying when the bread is cooked to a golden- 
brown color in one-half minute or is well browned in one minute. 
Lard, beef, and, probably, mutton fats are hot enough when the bread 
is cooked to a golden-brown color in one minute or is well browned 
in one and one-half minutes. 

In sauteing, or pan frying, the food is cooked on a layer of fat 
rather than completely immersed in it, as in deep frying, and for 
this reason there is less opportunity for the food to soak fat. There 
is more danger, however, that the food so cooked will be burned 
unless care is taken, since the pan may become too hot and the rela- 
tively small amount of fat may soon be used up and the food stick 
to the pan. For this reason a fat which does not scorch at a low 
temperature is especially desirable for sauteing ; butter, for example, 
being less satisfactory in this respect than lard or beef fat. If the 
butter flavor is desired in pan-fried foods, a little butter can be used 
with a harder fat or the butter can be added after cooking. Other- 
wise great care must be exercised to avoid scorching. 

UTILIZATION OF WASTE FATS. 

In many homes the failure to utilize left-over or discarded portions 
constitutes the chief waste of fat. Many housekeepers who are eco- 
nomical in other ways do not give sufficient attention to this matter, 
and, as a result, there is apt to be more fat wasted than either protein 
or carbohydrate. In cities this is evidenced by the fact that there 
are large and profitably conducted concerns whose only business is 
the recovery and sale of grease from garbage. As this grease is 
always sold for soap making or other industrial purposes, it is not a 
complete loss, though lost to the housekeeper, and much of it, if prop- 
erly saved in the home instead of thrown in the garbage, might have 
been used for culinary purposes. In country households there is 
often better opportunity for utilizing waste fats than in the city, 
and it is quite possible that some of the fat ordinarily fed to the pigs 
and chickens might be more economically utilized if the edible por- 
tions were carefully rendered and used for cooking purposes and the 
remainder used for soap making. The latter is not such a difficult 
process as many persons suppose. The necessary lye may be readily 
purchased at a low price, and simple directions for soap making 
usually come with it. 

From the standpoint of economy it is desirable for the purchaser 
of meat to secure all the fat which he pays for in a particular cut. 
The dealer pays a flat rate per pound for the carcass, which includes 
the lean meat, fat, and bone. The fat must either be sold with the 
meat or else removed and the lean meat sold at a higher price to 
insure a profit. Many butchers in preparing beef, mutton, or poul- 



PATS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL USB EH THE HOME. 21 

try for delivery remove much of the fat in order to make the meat 
appear more attractive. The purchaser often does not take the trou- 
ble to ask for this fat. even though he may have paid for it at the 
same rate as the meat. If this fat were secured, as is frequently the 
case with the excess bone and trimmings which are used for soup 
making, it could often be rendered at home and used to supplement 
cooking fats. Sometimes very large and fat cuts of meat are sold 
at a relatively low price per pound. While the purchaser may 
think that thus a bargain is being secured, it is usually true after 
allowance has been made for a large quantity of fat and bone that the 
price paid for the lean portion is considerably higher than appears 
at first thought. In such cases it is especially desirable that the excess 
fat be utilized in the home. 

If one so desires, bits of fat meat, portions of butter, etc.. left over 
from the table may be saved, rendered (if necessary), clarified, and 
used for cooking. While there may seem to be some esthetic objec- 
tion to this procedure, this is not necessarily a serious one under 
family conditions where good health prevails, since if properly ren- 
dered the fat is sterilized. The better way. however, is to effect the 
same saving by taking care in serving that each portion is approxi- 
mately what will be eaten. Under commercial conditions the use of 
table left-overs is entirely unjustified, since the person served can 
know neither the circumstances under which they were obtained nor 
the quality of the material which he may eat. The pieces of excess 
fat trimmed before cooking from roasts, steaks, or chops should be 
saved as well as the drippings tried out in cooking. Drippings 
from fresh pork may be clarified and used like lard. Beef fat or 
drippings and small quantities of lamb fat. if fresh and carefully 
clarified, may be added to lard or other soft fats for deep frying. 
Sausage, ham. and bacon fats may be used as they are for frying and 
warming up foods, since the characteristic flavors which they impart 
are relished by many. 

In some parts of the country fat is used (but less now than for- 
merly ) to preserve meats for a limited time. The thoroughly 
cooked meats are placed in clean earthen jars or wooden tubs, and 
over them is poured a sufficient quantity of hot melted lard or beef 
suet to cover. The hot fat sterilizes the surface of the meat and on 
cooling forms a protective coating against the action of the air. bac- 
teria, or mold spores. So far as is known this method has not been 
tested experimentally, but meat so treated is said to keep very well. 
providing it is thoroughly cooked and the fat has been heated suffi- 
ciently to sterilize it and drive off the water. To prevent the fat 
from becoming rancid it is desirable to store the jars in a cool, dark 
place. Carefully rendered beef suet- or mutton tallow may also be 



22 BULLETIN 40!), U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

used in the place of paraffin, which it closely resembles in consistency, 
to seal the tops of jelly glasses. To cite another instance, a spoonful 
of salad oil may be poured on top of the liquid in an opened bottle 
of pickles or olives. This excludes air and so helps to keep the ma- 
terial in good condition until used. 

RENDERING AND CLARIFYING FATS. 

Beef or mutton suet and scraps of fat contain more or less muscle 
or connective tissue, which must be removed by rendering before the 
fat is available for most culinary uses. The household method of 
rendering generally consists in cutting the material into small pieces 
and heating it in an open kettle until the fat has separated out quite 
completely from the particles of tissue, which usually have become 
shriveled and browned. This tissue (called "scraps" or "crack- 
lings '') is then removed by straining, being pressed to remove the 
fat more completely. The scraps or cracklings are utilized in vari- 
ous ways in different parts of the country, being sometimes eaten as 
such and sometimes used as shortening. Some housekeepers prefer 
to render their fat with the addition of water, since they believe 
there is less danger of burning. However, this necessitates heating 
the strained fat until the water is driven off to secure a fat of good 
keeping quality. 

The following method of rendering fats, found to be very satis- 
factory in the laboratory of the Office of Home Economics, may be 
applied in the home. The fat is cut finely with an ordinary house- 
hold meat chopper or sausage grinder and is then heated in a double 
boiler until completely melted. The melted fat is then strained 
through a rather thick cloth (medium fine huckaback, for instance) 
to remove the finely divided bits of tissue. The advantage of this 
method is that since the material to be rendered is finely divided 
the fat separates readily from the inclosing tissue at a tempera- 
ture very little above its melting point, and there is no danger of 
scorching it as in the older open-kettle method. This is of impor- 
tance, since recent information shows that fats overheated in render- 
ing do not keep as well as those which have not been heated too high. 
Also, there is no odor of scorched fat in the room during rendering. 
After the fat is rendered it should be carefully heated to make sure 
that it is free from moisture, and sterilized. This method of render- 
ing fat is entirely satisfactory when the quantity of fat to be rendered 
is fairly small. The difficulty of using it on a large scale would de- 
pend chiefly upon the labor and cost of grinding the fat, for if a 
double boiler of sufficient size were not available one could be im- 
provised by setting the kettle containing the fat in a larger kettle 
containing water. Pieces of wood or other material should be placed 



FATS AXD THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IX THE HOME. 23 

on the bottom of the outer kettle to insure a layer of water between 
the two kettles and prevent the fat from becoming too hot. 

Fats which have been saved when meats are cooked, or which have 
been salvaged in some other way. must usually be clarified — that is, 
freed from objectionable odors, tastes, or colors — before being entirely 
satisfactory for culinary purposes. A common custom is to cook a 
slice of potato in the fat. and this may help if the fat is fairly satis- 
factory to start with. A fairly successful household method for clari- 
fying fats is as follows: Melt the fat with at least an equal volume 
of water and heat for a short time at a moderate temperature, with 
occasional stirring. Let the mixture cool, remove the layer of fat. 
and scrape off any bits of meat and other material which may adhere to 
the under side. Rendering or clarifying fat with milk gives quite satis- 
factory results in modifying odors and flavors. The procedure is as 
follows: To 2 pounds of fat (finely chopped if unrendered) add 
one-half pint of milk (preferably sour). Heat the mixture in a 
double boiler until rendered or thoroughly melted, stir well, and 
strain through fairly thick cloth. TThen cold the fat forms a hard, 
clean layer, and any dark material adhering to the under side of 
the fat may be scraped off. Sour milk, being coagulated, is prefer- 
able to sweet milk, since the curd remains on the cloth through which 
the rendered mixture is strained and is thus more easily separated 
from the rendered fat. which has acquired some of the milk flavor 
and butter fat. 

Undesirable odors and flavors can be decreased in intensity or 
removed, if not too pronounced, by heating the fats with a good 
grade of charcoal, and the method is applicable to fats which could 
not be satisfactorily treated by the method first spoken of. To 
each poimd of chopped, unrendered fat add 12 pieces of clean, hard- 
wood charcoal about the size of a walnut and render the fat in a 
double boiler, as described above. Allow the charcoal to remain in 
the melted fat for about two hours and stir the mixture occasionally. 
It is necessary to strain the fat through flannel or other closely 
woven cloth to remove all the fine particles of charcoal. Eancid 
odors, if not too pronounced, may be satisfactorily removed by this 
method. If the odor is very pronounced more charcoal is needed, 
and the mixture requires longer heating. It is interesting to note 
that the characteristic yellow color of the beef fat may be removed 
and a white, odorless fat secured. 

SAVORY FATS. 

Savory fats — that is. fats to which have been added some strong 
seasoning material, such as sage, marjoram, summer savory, or 
thyme — offer a satisfactory method of utilizing fats having pro- 



24 BULLETIN 469, U. B. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

nounced odors or flavors like those of beef or mutton. The specific 
flavoring bodies present in these seasoning materials are dissolved 
in the fats and mask the strong original flavors. Savory fats are 
useful for frying, warming up vegetables, etc.. since they impart a 
distinct flavor to foods. 

There are a number of recipes for the preparation of savory fats. 
The following have been tested and found to be satisfactory with 
mutton or beef fats : 

SAVORY FAT, I. 

To 1 pound of unrendered fat (chopped fine) add 1 slice of onion about 
I inch thick and 2 inches in diameter, 1 teaspoon broken bay leaves, 1 tea- 
spoon salt, and about J teaspoon pepper. Render in a double boiler and strain. 

SAVORY FAT, II. 

To 1 pound unrendered fat (chopped fine) add 2 teaspoons thyme, 1 slice 
onion about \ inch thick and 2 inches in diameter. 1 teaspoon salt, and about \ 
tea gpoo li popper. Render in a double boiler and strain. 

SAVORY FAT, III. 

T<> 1 pound unrendered fat (chopped fine) add 1 teaspoon thyme. 1 teaspoon 
marjoram, \ teaspoon rubbed sage, 1 teaspoon salt, and about \ teaspoon pepper. 
Render in double boiler and strain through fine cloth. 

If it is desired to prepare a savory fat from a rendered fat the 
above recipes may be modified by melting the fat, adding the season- 
ing in the same proportion as above, heating the mixture gently for 
an hour or more, and straining. The following recipe has also been 
recommended for preparing a savory fat from a rendered fat : * 

To l pound rendered fat (melted) add 1 sour apple, 1 onion, and 1 teaspoon 
ground thyme or other sweet herbs tied in a small cloth. Cook together in oven 
or on the back of the stove until the onion and apple are well browned. Strain 
the fat through a fine cloth. 

The kind and amount of seasoning recommended may be easily 
modified to suit one's taste. Potato chips and French fried potatoes 
cooked in each of the above fats were found to have no noticeable 
mutton or beef flavor. In order to remove all particles of the herbs 
added it is necessary to strain the savory fats through flannel or 
other closely woven cloth. 

SOFTENING HARD FATS TO MAKE THEM MORE SATISFACTORY 
FOR SHORTENING PURPOSES. 

Fats, like beef or mutton suet, which are too hard for satisfactory 
use in shortening, may be softened to the desired consistency by 
mixing softer fats like lard or cottonseed oil with them. The follow- 

*U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 526 (1915), p. 9. 



FATS AXD THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IX THE HOME. 25 

ing recipes have been found to be satisfactory in preparing a soft 
culinary fat from these hard fats: 

SOFT FAT, I. 

Grind together two parts unrendered beef or mutton fat and one part lard. 
Render in double boiler as described on page 22. 

This fat is improved by adding ^ pint of milk to each 2 pounds of 
the mixture before rendering. The flavor is thus improved, and the 
fat may be used for frying or shortening. 

SOFT FAT, II. 

Mix three parts unrendered beef or mutton fat (ground fine) and one part 
refined cottonseed oil. Render in double boiler as described on page 22. 

Eendered beef or mutton fats may be softened by adding to them 
the lard or cottonseed oil. heating the mixture until melted, and mix- 
ing thoroughly. It is desirable to stir these mixed fats occasionally 
while cooling to avoid the danger of the hard fat separating out. The 
beef and mutton flavors are lessened somewhat by this softening 
process. 

CARE AND STORAGE OF FATS IN THE HOME. 

The chief precaution to be taken in storing fats is to prevent them 
from becoming rancid. The exact nature of the chemical changes 
undergone by fats when they become rancid is not definitely known. 
It is certain, however, that rancidity does not occur without the 
previous formation of free fatty acids, and for the formation of fatty 
acids light, heat, and air (containing oxygen) are necessary. There- 
fore, fats to be stored for some time should be protected from heat, 
light, and air. In the case of table fats like butter, which usually 
are not kept long in the home, it is only necessary to keep them in a 
cool place and away from objectionable odors and flavors, which they 
absorb quite readily. The common custom of keeping butter in a 
clean earthen dish in the ice compartment of the refrigerator is prob- 
ably the most satisfactory for the average housewife. The rural 
custom of keeping it in a pail suspended in a deep well or on a cool 
and dry, clean cellar bottom is also satisfactory. Table oil, from 
which small quantities are used frequently, keeps best if stored in a 
cool place like a refrigerator and kept in small closed containers so 
as to exclude the air as much as possible. Bottles of dark glass, or 
wrapped in light-proof paper, have an advantage over clear glass 
bottles in that they exclude the light. Tin cans are also very satis- 
factory for this purpose. 

More care is necessary in the storage of cooking fats than is the 
case with table fats, because the former are generally purchased in 
larger quantities and are kept longer. While it is not necessary to 



20 BULLETIN 469, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

seal these fats as tightly as is the case with canned fruits, they should, 
nevertheless, always be kept in covered receptacles and in a cool, 
dark place. Also, fats like lard should contain (or more accurately 
inclose) very little moisture, since this favors the growth of molds. 
In warm weather scraps of fat to be saved should be rendered 
promptly to prevent them from becoming rancid. In cold weather 
they may be kept until a sufficient quantity has accumulated to make 
rendering worth while. 

SUMMARY. 

Economy of fats in the home may be secured by intelligent selec- 
tion, economical use, and by the prevention of unnecessary waste. 
For intelligent selection, which means choosing the fat best suited 
for the purpose in question, a knowledge of the properties and prices 
of the different fats on the market is necessary. It should be remem- 
bered that the energy value of all the pure fats is practically the 
same, and the housekeeper must determine how much she can afford 
to pay for particular flavors or appearance, on which the difference 
in price largely depends. To secure economy fats should be used 
primarily for the purposes to which they are best adapted, and the 
extravagant use of both table and cooking fats should be avoided. 
To prevent unnecessary waste fats should be carefully handled and 
stored so that none need be discarded through spoilage. Further- 
more, all scraps of fat which accumulate in the home should be saved 
and used for culinary purposes wherever possible, thus lessening the 
amount of money expended for cooking fats. It should always be 
borne in mind that while an economical use of fat is to be desired, 
-tinting is to be avoided. In determining how far economy in the 
use of fats is to be practiced one should bear in mind that true 
economy is possible only where the value of the time and energy 
involved in the saving or utilizing of an article is less than the value 
of the articles saved. 



PUBLICATIONS OF UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUL- 
TURE RELATING TO THE USE OF FATS IN THE HOME. 

AVAILABLE FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION. 

Meats: Composition and Cooking. (Farmers' Bulletin 34.) 

Beans, Peas, and Other Legumes as Food. (Farmers' Bulletin 121.) 

Preparation of Vegetables for the Table. (Farmers' Bulletin 256.) 

Use of Milk as Food. (Farmers' Bulletin 363.) 

Care of Food in the Home. (Farmers' Bulletin 375.) 

Economical Use of Meat in the Home. (Farmers' Bulletin 391.) 

Care of Milk and Its Use in the Home. (Farmers' Bulletin 413.) 

Cheese: Economical Uses in the Diet. (Farmers' Bulletin 4S7.) 

Mutton and Its Value in the Diet. (Farmers' Bulletin 526.) 

Farm Buttermaking. (Farmers' Bulletin 541.) 

Use of Corn. Kafir, and Cowpeas in the Home. (Farmers' Bulletin 559.) 

Corn Meal as a Food and Ways of Using It. (Fanners' Bulletin 565.) 

Production of Clean Milk. (Farmers' Bulletin 602.) 

Food for Young Children. (Farmers' Bulletin 717.) 

FOR SALE BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, GOVERNMENT PRINTING 
OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C. 

Household Tests for the Detection of Oleomargarine and Renovated Butter. 
(Farmers' Bulletin 131.) Price, 5 cents. 

Meat on the Farm : Butchering. Curing, and Keeping. (Farmers' Bulletin 183.) 
Price, 5 cents. 

Bouillon Cubes : Their Contents and Food Value Compared with Meat Extracts 
and Home-made Preparations of Meats. (Department Bulletin 27.) Price. 
5 cents. 

Digestibility of Some Animal Fats. (Department Bulletin 310.) Price, 5 cents. 

Fat Testing of Cream by Babcock Method. (Bureau of Animal Industry Bulle- 
tin 58.) Price. 5 cents. 

Manufacture of Butter for Storage. (Bureau of Animal Industry Bulletin 148.) 
Price, 5 cents. 

Normal Composition of American Creamery Butter. (Bureau of Animal Indus- 
try Bulletin 149.) Price, 5 cents. 

Factors Influencing Change in Flavor in Storage Butter. (Bureau of Animal 
Industry Bulletin 162.) Price, 10 cents. 

New Method for Determining Fat and Salt in Butter, Especially Adapted for 
Use in Creameries. (Bureau of Animal Industry Circular 202.) Price, 5 
cents. 

Detection of Phytosterol in Mixtures of Animal and Vegetable Fats. (Bureau 
of Animal Industry Circular 212. ) Price, 5 cents. 

27 



ADDITIONAL COPIES 

OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM 

THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS 

(.uVKRNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

AT 

: CENTS PEB copy 
V 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



012 822 368 A 



